Fruit Trifle

This is my second post for the day. I don’t mean to cram my readers with a lot of my kitchen-doings. It’s just, I work through the night on weekdays and I spend the mornings fast asleep – that leaves me no time to either whip up something amazing or to blog. So my weekends – Thursdays and Fridays – are the days when I dig into my fridge, pull out some ingredients and spend my time holed up in the kitchen, trying something new and special. Lucky for me, I’ve been blessed with foodies for loved ones and they always oh-so-graciously hog up what ever I make.

Fruit Trifle is and has always been my older brother’s favorite dessert, and of the many times I’ve made it, I’ve always got positive reviews. The first time I tasted a fruit trifle was at my aunt’s place, many years ago. I remember us cousins scarfing every last bit of it eagerly. It was uniquely exotic to us – we had eaten custard, jelly and cake – all separately; but who knew that all of it put together would be so delicious?

This dessert is all about precision. It isn’t hard to make, but every element should come out just right. Balancing the textures and the sweetness is key. Firstly, the vanilla cake that forms the base should be soft and crumbly – this gives the dessert a gooey texture. The jelly should be firm and should just melt in your mouth – it gives the dessert a tangy flavor that cuts through the sweetness. The custard should be of a think consistency yet creamy and delicious with the fruits giving the dessert the crunch that it needs.

Here’s what you need:

A Vanilla Cake – you can either bake one on your own or you can buy one

A batch of Strawberry, Raspberry or Cherry Jelly

A batch of Custard – made with 750 ml milk

Canned Fruits – two 500ml tins

Here’s how you make it:

Firstly, slice up the vanilla cake into thin slices.

Line the base of your deep dish with the cake slices. Lightly pour the juice of the canned fruits over the cake and soak it.

Top the Vanilla cake with a layer of jelly. Pop it into the fridge for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, drain the canned fruits of the juices and add the fruits to the custard. Mix well.

Pour the custard and fruit mixture over the jelly.

Put the fruit trifle in the fridge for a couple of hours to set well.

If you’re a dessert person and you want a change from all the chocolaty desserts that are available around town, a portion of fruit trifle is just what you need to make your day. The soft, moist cake, the tangy jelly and the sweet, creamy custard and the fruits come together with unique flavors and textures to entice your taste buds. In all the times I’ve made it, I’ve never gotten bad reviews – everybody loves it and they think its very hard to make. But in reality, it is super simple to make – all you need is patience, a keen eye and the will to make it.

Go ahead and try this fruit trifle recipe, tweak it as per your liking and surprise your loved ones with this exotic-looking-and-tasting yet simple-to-make dessert!